The invention relates generally to wind turbines and more particularly to a system and method of inspecting a wind turbine blade.
Wind turbines generate electricity from the kinetic energy of wind. Each wind turbine includes three major components: a structural support component, a generator component, and a rotor component. The rotor component further includes wind turbine blades that are employed to convert the kinetic energy of wind to mechanical energy which is then converted to electricity by the generator component.
Inspection of wind turbine blades is important for ongoing operation of wind turbines. One method to inspect a wind turbine blade includes using an ultrasound probe to scan the surfaces of the wind turbine blade. The use of the probe on the surfaces of the wind turbine blade to measure defects is a complex scanning process since the probe needs to follow the surface contour of the wind turbine blade and a couplant is required for ultrasound measurement of the wind turbine blade. Moreover, each surface needs to be inspected separately, resulting in more inspection time and costs.
Therefore, there is a need for an improved wind turbine blade inspection system.